Are Merriwether Williams's Episodes really that wretched?

[Anadu Kune 668]

For the most part I don't think so, but I want to know why others do. Mare Do Well is my least favorite episode, but I had fun with her other episodes. I enjoyed putting your hoof down, its not at the top of my list but I enjoyed it. Same goes for dragon quest but to a slightly lesser degree. 

What I want is for those who have big problems and think that the episodes are truly horrible to list your big complaints. Why do they not work? I have been trying to formulate a post addressing and assessing the complaints about the episodes but I cant find anything substantial enough to warrant the hate these episodes seem to be getting. Sure they are not the best the show has to offer but I don't think they are awful wretched garbage either.

 

If you do not think they are bad feel free to express that as well I just want to get a feel as to the feelings regarding the episodes.

[MorningFlash 214]

I mean, I think her episodes are enjoyable but they aren't the best and aren't in my top 10 episodes list. I feel like they're fillers if anything.

[Moon Rat 4,772]

Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't the most recent episode of MLP made by Maryweither Williams?

 

If so, in my opinion, that was actually a really awesome episode and she appears to be learning how to make better episodes

[CrystalRose 636]

I like her episodes. They're not in my top 3, but I really do like Wonderbolt's Academy and Putting Your Hoof Down a lot. Eeeeeee.

[One 498]

I don't pay attention to who makes the episodes... But that may just be me.

 

With the episodes that people gave, I would say they aren't me favorite episodes, but they aren't my least favorite, they are saftley in between the lines of darn right awful and awesomely amazing.

[Whofch 128]

I've got nothing against her episodes in particular. Granted none of them are in my top episodes list but I don't think any of them are in my worst episodes list either. She appears to go for the individual character episodes which means if her ideas on how a character is doesn't line up with ours, it's much more noticeable and possible damaging.

[Discovery Dream 592]

I think her episodes teach great lessons and are no worse than any episodes (I found WOnderbolts Academy in particular to be great). She's just labeled as awful because she's not a RD fan.

[duidamasterXD 9,626]

I think she gets way too much flak honestly. Mare Do Well was my least favorite episode but she's improved her ability to write the characters since then. Hearths Warming Eve was great, Putting Your Hoof Down was solid, I wasn't the biggest fan of Dragon Quest but Wonderbolts Academy was spectacular.

So she's a little more hit and miss than some other writers but she doesn't deserve all the abuse she gets.

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,695]

*Merriwether Williams' episodes are not "wretched." I don't know what people are saying elsewhere, nor is it important to me, but no bronies here would go that far. The only Williams episodes that anyone had a problem with were Mare Do Well and Putting Your Hoof Down, and it was because she showed a tendency to make the ponies act unnatural or out of character to serve an overly cartoonish plot. These episodes were missing much of the warmth and character development that I had come to love about the show, and I know I wasn't alone in feeling that way.

 

But her more recent contributions, Hearth's Warming Eve and Wonderbolt Academy, I liked very much.

[PoisonClaw 8,161]

The only real thing someone could call a black mark on her record was The Mysterious Mare-Do Well, but that was her first chance at writing these characters so even then you could give her a little lee-way. All her other episodes are a definite marked improvement in comparison, especially Hearth's Warming Eve and the recent Wonderbolt Academy (which alone show how much she's improved writing Dash) both of which are in my top favorites.  

[silvadel 1,393]

Hmmm -- I actually put Mysterious Mare Do Well in the top half of the episodes unlike many bronies.  Wonderbolt Academy was wonderful and is right near the top. 

[FruitRiver 355]

The only episode I didn't really love that she made is mare do well. I don't hate any episodes, there all pony's and are all awesome IMO

[Shanks 10,816]

The only episode that she made that I did not like very much was Hearths Warming Eve, I know the message was good and it had its moments but as far as origin stories go that was pretty weak. Exactly where were Celestia and Luna? What about Discord?

[Arcanel 3,041]

Actually, most of the reasons people critique Merriwether Williams a lot, is because of The Mysterious Mare Do Well, and in less quantity, Putting Your Hoof Down. Her other episodes minus (let's take out the recent one for now), Heart's Warming Eve and Dragon Quest, have been much more accepted. Honestly, both analytically and normally speaking, I like all of her episodes (as I do all of the pony episodes). Many have criticized how OOC'ed and breaking of continuity her episodes have been, but I don't agree.

[RockinRarity 1,605]

In the most recent episode, I only thought that Pinkie Pie was over-the-top. But it still worked because Pinkie can generally be over-the-top anyways.

 

I thought that she did a wonderful job with Rainbow Dash's character in this episode, especially compared to her first attempt with Mare-Do-Well. She ended up being one of the few people who has actually utilized RD's element of harmony! Most people forget seem to forget that she has the element of loyalty, but in the most recent episode, Merriweather Williams actually remembers that Loyalty is supposed to be one of RD's strongest qualities.

 

I really liked this one and Dragon Quest a lot. Putting Your Hoof Down is an episode I had a couple of problems with, but I actually can't remember why I felt that way... I may have to watch it again to remember.

 

So yeah, I don't really get the hate either. She made one not-so-good episode and then people see that she writes another ones and goes "oh noez this is gonna be terrible, so instead of giving it a chance I'm going to point out the negative aspects of the episode and blow them out of proportion!!1" Then again, that's just what haters do, so best to leave them be and not try to rationalize with them~

[Hawk 100]

Yeah I never agreed with other bronies about the Mare Do Well episode.  I personally enjoyed it and all the other episodes she's done  I think Marriwether Williams is just as talented writer as everyone else on that staff.  The wonderbolt academy episode was spectacular, I loved how they handled Rainbow Dash in that episode. 

 

Wait... people actually had a problem with Putting Your Hoof Down?  Fluttershy fans taking issue with her having some character development or something? *Facepalms*

[PinkiePie Forever 65]

I thought the newest episode stunk, but I thought Mare Do Well was great. Maybe because RD is my lest favorite pony, I don't know.

[Silanda 23]

No, I liked her episodes on the whole, especially Putting Your Hoof Down. She's also responsible for Chancellor Puddinghead and therefore a couple of my favourite Pinkie moments.

[Snowfeathers 43]

Y'know, I never quite got what was such a big deal about her. The only episode of hers I didn't like too much was Putting Your Hoof Down, and that's without even knowing who wrote it and her reputation. I didn't even really have a problem with it, I just didn't like it as much as the other episodes.

And the only problem I had with Mare Do Well was the continuity between the mane 5 in the disguise, not anypony's personality or anything. I don't think she's half bad, to be honest.

[Stellafera 3,836]

I read somewhere that the defining characteristic of Merriwether's episodes is a sense of cynicism. I agree. Also, she likes to make Applejack's sense of sarcasm shine much more brightly than other writers do, but that's not the main message here.

 

 Mare Do Well has Ponyville constantly being assaulted with disasters and shows an unpleasant side to Rainbow Dash and unpleasant methods used by her friends. Hearth's Warming Eve's main plot is centered around racism. Everypony in town except Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie are jerks in Putting Your Hoof Down. Dragon Quest features casual destruction of baby animals and bullying from the seemingly majestic race of dragons. Wonderbolt Academy is a bit of the odd one out here, but it shows that the titular academy is not as glamorous and prestigious and Rainbow Dash thought and a truly callous Lightning Dust.

 

The thing is that this is not a typically cynical show. We see a lot of the ugly sides of ponies with her that we don't normally see. "Out of character!", our hearts cry. But the stylistic quirks of each writer is what makes it fun when you see who wrote an episode. Mitch Larson? Expect some team based action going on and a big climax. Dave Polsky? Slapstick and possible controversy. Charlotte Fullerton? Slice of life. Merriwether has her own sort of style, and that works fine too.

[Obsidian_Winter 1,159]

I think her episodes teach great lessons and are no worse than any episodes (I found WOnderbolts Academy in particular to be great). She's just labeled as awful because she's not a RD fan.

THIS. Mare Do Well showed a part of RD that i think has always been there but not explored. It was her worst side and I think it was brave to write an episode that taught RD a lesson about that.

 

Hearth's Warming showed a different side to Equestria. It brought it down to earth and showed it wasn't always this great place. They had to work for it. It was a lesson on how the world is and can be. I loved that episode. Yes, it talked about Racism, but racism is a real problem. They made it past it, so can we. I think she gets a bad Rep just because she doesn't kiss RD's ass. I still have no clue why people love RD so much.

 

Anywho, thats my two cents.

[MatrixChicken 879]

I've personally enjoyed all her episodes quite a lot, and Hearth's Warming Eve is actually one of my favorite episodes. :3 Latest episode was pretty great, too.

[Arcanel 3,041]

But the stylistic quirks of each writer is what makes it fun when you see who wrote an episode. Mitch Larson? Expect some team based action going on and a big climax. Dave Polsky? Slapstick and possible controversy. Charlotte Fullerton? Slice of life. Merriwether has her own sort of style, and that works fine too.

 

Let me love you because that, was absolutely great. Seriously. All that we would need is...heeeeeey...I think you got better the "esences" of the writers. You know Stellafera, a thread about what are the writer's quirks and such wouldn't be a bad idea and it could give people a better judgement about those who look for the writers. Think you could do it?

Edited December 17, 2012 by Arcanel

[The Mane-iac 1,645]

I really like her episodes so I don't see what the problem is. To me what she brings to the table is required to bring the show out of the normal two dimensional settings cartoon characters normally have. Her episodes show the lesser seen sides of the ponies and that makes them more whole than if all we ever saw was Rainbow bragging about how cool she is while everypony goes along with it, Rarity just getting played the "stuck up princess" card constantly, or whatever else. To me the depth brought to the show by having so many different writers all with different styles is something that really brings the show out of the "for little girls/kids" mindset. That goes for any cartoon. Different creative minds behind something makes a more whole end result.

[Yellow Diamond 7,565]

Williams tends to emphasize physical gags over dialogue, creating situations where you can have awesome pop culture references (e.g., Batman Animated Series in "Mare Do Well"; Pinkie Pie using the famous "Duck Season, Rabbit Season" gag in "Putting Your Hoof Down."). There is also a trend in her episodes involving "edgier" jokes and themes, such as the race wars in "Hearth's Warming Eve" (an episode which I quite like) and the unusually dark predicament Spike finds himself in when pressured to break a phoenix egg in "Dragon Quest." I think physical comedy is really Williams' strength; when she drifts into dialogue heavy segments, the characters sometimes exhibit traits which are unusual enough to cause Bronies to point them out.

 

This is somewhat glossed over in "Hearth's Warming Eve" as the Mane Six spend most of the episode impersonating famous figures from their world's history. In "Putting Your Hoof Down" and "Mare Do Well", however, the out of character behavior is more noticable. As such, one could argue that the characters in her episodes tend to suffer for the sake of comedic effect.

 

It is worth mentioning that Williams has written episodes for Adventure Time, and her work there is, in my mind, pretty darn awesome. While I cannot draw a direct connection between her style for Adventure Time and that of MLP: FiM, I suspect Williams is better suited to episodes heavily reliant on sight gags and short, goofy exchanges as opposed to stringing together a typical MLP narrative. In other words, if most MLP episodes were stand alone (i.e., the history of each episode is rather nebulous with respect to the overall story) rather than framed within a growing continuity, the reception to Williams' material would be warmer.

 

She really did earn a degree of infamy with "Mare Do Well" and "Putting Your Hoof Down." I'm not so certain if she'll ever escape their shadows without producing a truly dazzling episode. Some are already calling "Wonderbolt Academy" that kind of episode. I beg to differ, but that particular discussion is better suited for another thread.